Suspended furnace roof block



Aug. 22, 1961 R. SNELLMAN SUSPENDED FURNACE ROOF BLOCK Filed Aug. 26, 1959 INVENTOR. I KgYGER SIV'FZL Mfi/V United States Patent 2,997,008 SUSPENDED FURNACE ROOF BLOCK Roger Snellman, La Mirada, Calif., assignor to Harbisou- Walker Refractories Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 836,130 4 Claims. (Cl. 110-99) This invention relates to blocks from which suspended refractory roofs for furnaces and the like are formed, and more particularly to blocks formed from basic refractory bricks and metal cases.

In Rochow Patent No. 2,465,170, a furnace roof block of the type under consideration here is disclosed. That block includes a pair of refractory bricks disposed side by side in a metal case that extends part way around the two bricks. In the top of the block there is a narrow socket between the bricks for receiving the cross bar at the lower end of a .hanger. When the hanger is turned 90, the ends of the bar will extend into lateral recesses in opposite sides of the socket so that the block can be suspended in well-known manner in a furnace roof. Such a block is perfectly satisfactory as far as performance is concerned, but occasionally in installing the block originally, and particularly in patching a roof, at workman will inadvertently unseat the block from its hanger by allowing the hanger to rotate backward far enough to release its cross bar from the brick recesses. The block then falls. It is an object of this invention to provide a roof block, with which such an accident is not possible.

In accordance with this invention, two bricks, which are disposed on end side by side, have the inner faces of their upper portions spaced apart to form a narrow socket adapted to receive a hanger cross bar. The opposite sides of the socket are provided with lateral recesses for receiving the ends of the bar when the hanger is turned. In order to prevent the bar from being turned out of the recesses and accidentally releasing the block, at least one side of at least one brick is engaged by a metal sheet at an end of the socket. The sheet is provided with an inwardly bent resilient tongue that has a free end beside the adjacent recess in the path of rotation of an end of the hanger bar. In order to turn the bar into the recesses, its ends have to snap past the tongue, which then projects behind the bar and prevents it from being turned out of the recesses. Preferably, the metal sheet is part of a metal case partially or completely surrounding the bricks.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrat ed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of my roof block, with a portion broken away in horizontal section; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view, with an upper corner portion shown in vertical section.

Referring to the drawings, a pair of refractory bricks 1, which are made of basic material such as magnesia or chrome ore, are disposed on end and side by side. The two bricks are shown inside of a case formed from oxidizable sheet metal, although a complete case is not necessary. One way of making the case is to form it from two channels 2 and 3, which telescope together. The metal sheet forming the web of each channel engages both bricks. The two channels may be welded or otherwise secured together.

The upper portions of the bricks have their inner faces spaced apart to form a narrow socket 4 extending most of the way across the block. The socket is wide and long enough to receive the metal cross bar 5 that forms the lower end of a hanger 6, by which the block can be suspended in a furnace roof from an overhead support. To interconnect the hanger and block, the opposite sides of the socket are provided with lateral recesses 7 that receive the ends of the hanger bar when the hanger is turned. The two recesses are located diagonally across the socket from each other and extend lengthwise of the socket far enough to permit the hanger bar to be turned about after it has been inserted in the socket. The end of each recess adjacent the center of the block ex tends up into the bricks further than the rest of the recess to form notches 8 that receive the ends of the hanger bar so that it cannot turn in the block after it is in its innermost position.

It is a feature of this invention that during installation of the block there is no danger of the hanger accidentally being turned in the wrong direction and swung out of the brick recesses. before it has reached their notched inner ends. Accordingly, a tongue 10' is struck out of at least one side of the case and bent in toward the socket. The sheet metal tongue or tongues are naturally resilient and can be sprung back and forth a short distance without permanently bending them. Each tongue extends from a point near one brick diagonally inward toward the recess 7 in the other brick. Their free ends are located in such positions that the hanger bar 5, after it is first inserted in the socket 4, cannot be rotated into the recesses without springing the tongues outward far enough to allow the ends of the bar to slip past them. As soon as the bar passes the tongues, they spring in behind it and thereby prevent it from being turned in the opposite direction. This restraining position of the tongues is such that a material portion of the hanger bar at each of its ends must be disposed in the adjoining recess 7 and will there by prevent the block from dropping away from the hanger. A notch 11 formed in each brick beside the adjoining tongue permits the tongue to be bent inwardly into operative position after it has been cut from the side wall of the case.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A furnace roof block for suspension fro-m a hanger having a cross bar at its lower end, said block comprising a pair of refractory bricks disposed on end side by side with the inner faces of their upper portions spaced apart to form a narrow socket adapted to receive a hanger cross bar, the opposite sides of said socket being provided with lateral recesses for receiving the ends of said bar when the hanger is turned, and a metal sheet engaging a side of a brick at an end of said socket and provided with an inwardly bent resilient tongue having a free end beside one of said recesses in the path of rotation of the adjacent end of said hanger bar to thereby prevent the bar from being turned out of said recesses and accidentally releasing the block, the angle between the tongue and said sheet at the side of the tongue opposite to said one recess being at least 90.

2. A furnace roof block for suspension from a hanger having a cross bar at its lower end, said block comprising a pair of refractory bricks disposed on end side by side with the inner faces of their upper portions spaced apart to form a narrow socket adapted to receive a hanger cross bar, the opposite sides of said socket being provided with lateral recesses for receiving the ends of said bar when the hanger is turned, and a metal sheet engaging a side of a brick at an end of said socket and provided with a struck-out resilient tongue bent inwardly toward said socket, the tongue having a free end beside one of said recesses in the path of rotation of one end of said hanger 'bar, and said tongue being inclined outwardly away from said one recess and toward the metal sheet and the other brick.

3. A furnace roof block for suspension from a hanger having a cross bar at its lower end, said block comprising a pair of refractory bricks disposed on end side by side, and a metal case surrounding the bricks, the'inner 'faces of the upper portion of the bricks being spaced apart to form a narrow socket adapted to receive .a hanger cross bar, the opposite sides of said socket being provided with lateral recesses for receiving the ends of said bar when the hanger is turned, and the sides of the case at the ends of said socket being provided with ini having a cross bar at its lower end, said block comprising a pair of refractory bricks disposed on end side by side, the inner faces of the upper portion of the bricks being spaced apart to form a narrow socket adapted to receive a hanger cross bar, the opposite sides of said socket being provided with lateral recesses for receiving the ends of said bar when the hanger is turned, and metal sheets engaging the sides of the bricks at the ends'ofxsaidisocket and provided with struck-out resilient tongues bent inwardly toward :saidsocket, each tongue having a free end beside one of said recesses in the path of rotation of one end of said hanger bar, and said tongue being inclined outwardly away from the recess adjacent its free end and toward itssupporting metal sheet and the other brick, both tongues being inclined in the same general direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,088,526 Brae Feb. '24, 1914 2,465,170 Rochow Mar. 22, 1949 2,736,187 Cotfman et a1 Feb. 28, 1956 

